Thigpen stole second base and the Bucs intentionally walked Peninsula shortstop Mickey Tresh. With the infield pulled in, playing for a possible bunt, Murrell lined a single to left to score Thigpen.

"When Thig stole second base, I figured right then we had it won," said Murrell, whose home run in the Pilots opener Sunday lifted them to victory. "They walked Mickey to get to me. It was a fast ball up and I just went with it."

But Murrell said he doesn't wanted to be labeled the team's hero.

"Everybody here is equal," he said. "Nobody is different than the other guy. We're all fighting to get to the big leagues."

Murrell's single gave Peninsula a reprieve from a sloppy game in which the Pilots committed five errors - three by third baseman Dodd Johnson. The Bucs committed three themselves.

Oddly, no errors were involved when the Bucs tied the game 4-4 in the eighth inning.

With reliever Julio Machado on the hill to start the inning and two outs, Moises Alou doubled and the Bucs put together back-to-back infield singles to tie the game. The latter infield hit, by Ed Hartman, was tapped when he lunged at a Machado slider and lost the bat. The ball rolled to third baseman Dodd Johnson for a hit.

The Pilots took a 4-3 lead in the sixth inning. Johnson singled to left field and rightfielder Jay Knoblaugh reached safely on Salem shortstop Carlos Garcia's error.

Designated hitter Rico Cortes then lined a single to center field that scored Johnson from second base. Alou's throw back to the infield sailed over catcher Scott Barczi to move Knoblaugh to third and Cortes took second.

One out later, Thigpen's sacrifice fly scored Knoblaugh.

Earlier, in Salem's half of the sixth with the score tied 2-2, Domingo Merejo reached base on Johnson's second error of the game and, after Alou's single, scored on John Wehner's double down the left-field line.

Murrell said the errors are to be expected on a cold night. For the second consecutive night, the temperatures hovered around 40 degrees.

"The cold weather is rough," he said. "Plus the field was a little muddy tonight."

But Manager Jim Thrift said cold or warm, there is no excuse for errors.

"I don't attribute any errors from either side to the weather," he said. "Maybe to guys learning a new position or a little lack of concentration, but not the weather."

Pilots' starter Jay Makemson overcame early control problems to strike out eight in four innings. In the third inning, thanks to a third strike that was dropped, he struck out four. He threw 88 pitches during his stint before being relieved by sidearmer Tad Powers in the fifth.